Enlarging its pioneering environmental projects within its campus, Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) has unveiled the Mangroves Reserve Expansion Project.

 

Eng Yasser Abdulrahim Alabbasi, GPIC CEO, opened the Reserve on International Mangroves Day, in the presence of Hussain Maki, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Marine Resources at the Ministry of Municipalities and Agriculture, along with GPIC Labour Union Chairman and Union Members, members of the Executive Management Team, and other company employees. 

 

He said the company prioritises various environmental projects within the complex, including, olive gardens, aromatic plants gardens, neem trees, a bird sanctuary, and a fish farm, and it is now adding a Mangrove Reserve to this list. Mangroves are very beneficial to the marine and coastal environments. 

 

Nesting area

GPIC started the mangrove plantation as a nesting area for the GPIC Bird Sanctuary in 2003, and since then it has continued planting and nurturing mangroves, which are indigenous to the Kingdom of Bahrain. Today, there are 10,000 mangroves planted within GPIC’s complex, which underlines the company's unwavering dedication to tackling climate change and carbon emissions.

 

The CEO confirmed the company's ongoing commitment to increasing the number of mangroves in its reserve reaching up to 250 plants by 2035, in support of the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and in support of Bahrain's pledge to support the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) to expand four-fold the plantation coverage across coastal areas by 2035.  

 

“This will be a decisive step towards preserving our environment and mitigating the effects of climate change. Mangroves are known to play a vital role in balancing carbon emissions, which will help Bahrain achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2060,” he said.

 

Mangroves are a natural windbreak, they offer protection from storms and purifies the surrounding water, in addition they are very effective at naturally capturing and storing carbon dioxide emissions, thus contributing to combating climate change. Mangroves also provide a safe haven for birds and marine organisms by stabilising the soil, which enhances biodiversity and helps increase fish stocks.-- TradeArabia News Service